A digital television receives television programs through streams of transport packets which are broadcast by one or more television broadcasters; and transformed by a television receiver to audio and video signals which are then transmitted to the television set which can include, for example, a video display and speakers. In addition to audio and video signals for the programs, the stream of packets also include streams of metadata information composed of metadata packets which describe those programs. The metadata information can include, for example, information about the title, the timing, and the rating of each program. Metadata information are often broadcast based on industry standards, including Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) standards, e.g., ATSC A/65C, and Electronic Industries Alliance standards EIA-766 and CEA-766, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
A program rating states the level of a program's content based on a rating scheme. A rating scheme can define one or more rating categories, each called a rating “dimension”. For each dimension, the number of levels, and possibly a label (value) for each level, may be defined. For example, a rating scheme may include a “violence” dimension with four levels, labeled as, in increasing order of violence, “none”, “mild”, “strong”, and “graphic”. Similarly, a rating scheme may include a “language” dimension with five levels labeled as “none”, “mild”, “coarse”, “strong”, and “explicit”; a “sexuality” dimension with five levels labeled as “none”, “mature themes”, “brief nudity”, “extended nudity”, and “explicit sexual activity”; or a “humor” dimension, with four levels as “none”, “mild”, “high”, and “Extreme”. A rating scheme may also label the rating levels in a dimension by numbers instead of names. Alternatively, a rating scheme may categorize a program content not based on any specific dimension, but by using general rating labels, e.g., “general audience”, “PG”, “Restricted”, and “X-rated”, sorted according to increasing order of restrictions. Different rating schemes may share one or more of their dimensions and, for a common dimension, may use the same or different levels or labels.
The metadata packets associated with a program can include the rating level of the program content in one or more dimensions as defined by a specific rating scheme. For instance, program metadata may rate a program as “PG”, “Violence: mild”, “Language: coarse”. This rating information can be used by viewers to decide in advance whether to watch a program. The rating information can also be used, for example, by parents to prevent their children from viewing certain programs which the parents deem inappropriate.
A user can configure a television receiver by setting rating preferences such that programs with specific ratings are automatically blocked and not shown by their television. A blocking mechanism may utilize user preference in a categorical manner, to block programs having a level that is the same as those specified by the user; or in an ordinal manner, to block programs having levels that are the same as or more restricted than those specified by the user. For instance, in the above example for general rating labels, a user may set a preference for blocking programs with a “Restricted” rating. In a categorical mechanism, only programs with the “Restricted” rating will be blocked, while in an ordinal mechanism, programs with both “Restricted,” or “X-rated” ratings will be blocked. Such preference indicates that the user only accepts programs with a rating of “general audience” or “PG”. In this case, the television receiver would automatically block any program with a rating label more restricted than “PG”, e.g., “Restricted”, or “X-rated”. Similarly, a user may set a preference for blocking all programs with a violence level above “mild”, or a sexuality level above “brief nudity”. A user may be able to change those preferences, or to override them for specific programs or at specific times.
In order to interpret the rating information in the metadata packets for a specific program, the television receiver requires the rating scheme used by the broadcaster for rating that specific program. Rating schemes may differ in different regions. Moreover, such regional rating schemes may be updated to new versions, e.g., upon request by national or state regulatory bodies, for example, by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) in the U.S. Also, other organizations may create and register a new regional rating scheme, or a new version of an existing regional rating.
A digital television may include settings, e.g., information and algorithms, needed to decode a program rating that is based on a specific regional rating scheme. A manufacturer of a digital television may pre-program the television's settings such that it can decode an existing version of the regional rating scheme for one or more regions, e.g., for the U.S. or Canada. A user of such a television can thus view ratings of, and set rating preferences for viewing, programs that are rated based on those pre-programmed regional schemes. However, a program's rating may be based on a not pre-programmed regional scheme, for example, if the television is shipped to and used in a region other than those related to the television's pre-programmed regional schemes. Alternatively, a program's rating may be based on a not pre-programmed version of a pre-programmed regional scheme, for example, a new version of the regional scheme that was updated after the television was manufactured. In such occasions, a mechanism is required for updating the television settings such that it can decode that rating which is based on a not pre-programmed regional scheme or a not pre-programmed version of a regional scheme.
Generally, there are at least two methods for updating a television receiver's settings with respect to program ratings. A television may have a user interface such that a user can re-program the television and enter the required new information for a new setting. Alternatively, a television may have a mechanism to receive the new information through the stream of broadcast packets and update its own settings. In the second mechanism, at an agreed-upon time after a new rating scheme is created and approved, the new rating scheme and also programs that are rated based on that new scheme start being broadcast. A television receiver saves the broadcast rating scheme and utilizes it in interpreting the rating information to determine the respective ratings of the programs. A television receiver must regularly access the broadcast rating scheme to determine whether there has been a change in the previously saved rating scheme, and therefore whether it must save and use an updated rating scheme.